10 Myths Non-Christians Believe About Christians

Non-Christians sometimes misunderstand what Christians believe. They also misunderstand why Christians believe what they believe. In this article, I’d like to look at several misunderstandings, or myths, non-Christians have about Christians. Too many times, non-Christians allow, or use, these misunderstandings to prevent them from trusting Jesus as their Savior.

1. Being a Christian means following a set of rules. Christianity is a laundry list of things to do.

A person becomes a Christian when he or she enters into a saving relationship with the Savior, Jesus Christ. The Bible is clear that we cannot do enough good things to save ourselves, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6 KJV). Without that relationship with Jesus, even the good things we do are done out of selfish motives.

2. People can get to heaven based on how good they are here on earth.

Sometimes this belief is found in the idea that, if a person born in America, that person is a Christian. However, the Bible tells us that none of us are good enough on our own to go to Heaven (Romans 3:9-11). A Christian seeks to honor and glorify God by living for Him. This means that a Christian, by definition, will emulate the life and morals of His Savior, Jesus Christ. However, it is not living a good life that saves us; rather, once we are saved we begin to live a good life, a righteous life.

3. The Christian life is a life of ease and luxury.

Christianity is not about being financially prosperous. Many times, the Christian life is anything but easy. Often, when one becomes a follower of Jesus, he or she alienates friends, coworkers, and family. Many believers have suffered persecution, even death, for their faith. Becoming a Christian in order to get the ‘good life’ or live on ‘easy street’ is wrong, and usually does not pan out. God does reward those who faithfully serve Him, but He will not reward those whose hearts are merely motivated by the possibility of attaining the ‘good life’.

Too many times, non-Christians allow, or use, these misunderstandings to prevent them from trusting Jesus as their Savior.

4. Ministers, pastors, are the ‘bosses’ of the church.

One becomes a Christian by making a choice to trust Jesus with his or her life. No one else can become a Christian for someone else. Consequently, the responsibility for living the Christian life belongs to the Christian, not to his or her parents, pastor, minister, or pope. The apostle Paul commended some of those listening to his message because they did not merely believe what he said; rather, they searched the Bible (the Word) to make sure what Paul said matched what the Bible said (Acts 17:11). We are wise when we do accordingly. No man, or woman, knows all truth…however, the Bible contains God’s Word, and He does know all truth.

5. Christianity is really only a crutch.

One must ask: A crutch for what? When one becomes a Christian, it is very possible that his or her life and relationships will become more difficult. The world, and its philosophy, is aggressively opposed to God, His Word, and His ways. Whoever commits their life to Jesus Christ will find themselves swimming upstream against an aggravated current of those who seek to discredit and destroy them. This could hardly be seen as a ‘crutch’ or something someone would seek merely as a lark. Jesus warns those who are thinking about following Him to count the cost carefully (Luke 14:27-29), it is sometimes high, but it is always worth it.

This could not be further from the truth. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for humanity. Christians are passionate about sharing that hope with everyone. The friction arises with those who hear the Gospel, reject it, and choose to remain in their sin. Every one of us is either in Adam or in Christ, and there is enmity between the two spiritual groups. This is why those who choose to reject God are so often angry at Christians who point out sinful lifestyles.

7. Heaven will be boring.

How could a perfect place, with no sin, in the presence of a loving all-mighty God, be boring? We were created to be in a relationship with God; therefore, the afterlife will be what we have all been longing for (whether we realize it or not). Heaven will be something better than, and beyond what, our minds could ever imagine.

8. Christians aren’t allowed to think for themselves. Christianity is based on blind faith. Committed Christians are against science.

The Lord invites His people to ‘reason’ with Him in Isaiah 1:18. Many of the Apostle Paul’s sermons involved the thinking capabilities of his hearers. There are a great many incredible thinkers within the Christian faith; in science, theology, philosophy, medicine, etc. God created our brains, He expects us to use them for His glory.

9. Christians are not allowed to enjoy sex! Ever!

God created sex; however, He designed it to be experienced within the marriage relationship, not outside of it. He also restricted it to being between a man and a woman, husband and wife. Christians do not, or should not, consider sex to be dirty when it takes place within the marriage union; however, when it occurs outside of the way God designed it, it is not merely dirty, it is also sin.

10. Christians have a low view of women.

Some unbelievers think that Christians live by the maxim that the wife should be little more than a slave to the husband. Jesus elevated the status of women during His ministry on earth and the apostle Paul taught that men and women are equal in Christ. The culture of Jesus’ day was very demeaning of women. Jesus confronted this idea of inequality and showed that male and female are both precious in the sight of God.

Conclusion

Those who have not trusted Jesus with their lives often have great misunderstandings concerning the Christian faith. These misunderstandings can hinder their acceptance of the Gospel message. Christians must understand this and be able to provide the answers to the unbeliever’s questions. Jesus’ followers should be the most loving, reasonable, and patient people on earth. We have nothing to fear from worldly philosophies or false humanistic beliefs if we are well-grounded in the Bible and are living in the Spirit, not in the flesh (Ephesians 6:12).

Robert Driskell received a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Pastoral Ministries and Biblical Studies from Mid-America Christian University in 1995. He is convinced that the hope of the world lies in men and women having a saving relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Robert believes that the Bible contains the truth that God wants us to base our lives upon. He is passionate about understanding the Bible and helping others do the same. Only when one views life through the lens of the Bible can one arrive at a worldview based on truth. Robert is happily married and lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Robert has written 111 articles on What Christians Want To Know! Read them in the archive below.

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Thank you Robert for your article. The folks I speak with have two main stated objections:

A) Christianity is too exclusive. “I cannot accept a God who only allows those who have heard a chance for salvation”

B) God’s Redemptive Plan. “Why would God make mankind at all, if He foreknew they would fall and need a Savior?”

You answered A) very well in your correspondence with me, and B) is answered well by William Lane Craig (in his debates with atheists anyone can find on YouTube), that God’s foreknowledge does not preclude man’s Free Will.

Ultimately it is only the Holy Spirit who will convict men’s hearts and as you so well said in #6 above:

Can one get to heaven simply by following the teachings of Jesus or Buddha without picking and choosing what to believe from the Bible which will support your position. Is there a logical reason to be Christ like not based on anything other than the gospels, their veracity or lack thereof not withstanding.

I am sure Robert will throw in here, but do I hear you correctly when you say,

“Is there a logical reason to be Christ like not based on anything other than the gospels…”

Did you mean,

“Is there a logical reason to be Christ like based on anything other than the gospels…”

The answer is “Yes” to this latter question. Many atheists are the most moral people I know, putting me to shame, yet they discount the Bible entirely let alone belief in God or heaven.

The question you might ask is not whether a person can be moral or loving without the Bible but rather, what is the basis or foundation for their morality? Morality demands that we adhere to a basic moral code. “Do good and avoid doing evil”.

But in order to have a moral code we must have a moral code giver. Who was this moral code giver, if not God?

Once one believes in God and the moral code He has written on every man’s heart(conscience) then we understand we have a problem. That problem is that we have not always lived up to or obeyed His moral code or Laws.

For example, we all have lied. Most will admit to stealing something in their life even if a small item. Most will admit to lusting after the opposite sex. These are all breaking God’s Laws or moral code.

If God is just, which by definition He is, He will judge us for breaking His moral code. This is the situation all humanity finds themselves…we are all Law breakers and will suffer God’s justice when He judges our transgressions of His Laws.

God loves us though and does not want us to come under His judgement. He wants us to be rescued from the consequences of our transgressions of His moral code. He provided that rescue by having a substitute take our place. This substitute paid the penalty for us by dying for us, in our place, so we get to go free.

The only requirement is for us to turn to Him and away from our transgressions and to believe in Him.

It is only Jesus Christ the Savior who rescued us. He is the Word of God and it is God’s Holy Spirit who wrote the Words of the Bible. The Word’s of the Bible encapsulate who Jesus is and those Word’s became flesh in the baby/man Jesus.

These Words making up the Bible were embodied in the Christian’s God, Jesus. They are the Words of life. We don’t just follow those Words but we believe the Word of God, Jesus.

The Christian believes that Jesus is God and died for our transgressions(sin) and rose from the grave. The Christian has turned from sin and cast our trust on Jesus to raise us from the dead to live forever with Him in heaven.

Maybe this was more than you wished in reply cken, but my heart went out to you by the nature of your post. Following Jesus is not just a way of life like following a Buddhist master, it is what I have described to you above.

We Christians actually have Christ’s Holy Spirit living within our bodies and it is His Holy Spirit which “marks” us as saved from God’s judgement coming upon all humanity.

By being in Christ we are in Noah’s Ark that avoided destruction from the Flood. You can too, and have this salvation experience, by turning away from sin and turning to Christ and believing in Him. I pray you trust Him today.

cken,
There is not much, if anything, that I could add to DocReits’ comment. The Bible makes it clear that simply following a set of rules or trying to be good is not enough to spare us from God’s judgment. Trusting in Jesus Christ, and His payment for our sins, is the only way to have our sins forgiven and enjoy a personal relationship with our Creator God. God bless you cken.
Yours in Christ,
Robert

I’m not sure about # 3 – at least I don’t get any of it. I’d rather agree with Chesterton: “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”
To those who think that heaven will be boring I tell that it will be sooo exciting that we will need incorruptible bodies to withstand it – and the presence of God!

Fernando,
Thank you for reading and commenting. I love that quote from Chesterton, it’s so true. About #3 above, here in America (I don’t know where you live, so pardon me if you already know this), we too often have the idea that, if one becomes a believer in Jesus, he or she is automatically guaranteed a life free from troubles or trials (and possibly guaranteed wealth too). We mustn’t use this as an evangelism tool because Jesus told His followers that they will have tribulation in this life and we know that many of the early Christians were not wealthy and many lost their lives because of their faith. In evangelism, we must make the person aware that they (and we) have broken God’s commandments and are now separated from God because of this. God sent His Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins and now offers us the gift of salvation. I hope I’ve made it clearer and not muddied it up more. But, if I have, feel free to comment again and we’ll talk again. God bless you, Fernando.
Yours in Christ,
Robert

Hi Robert,
Thank you for your answer. I live in Mendoza, Argentina. Here we also have some brothers that preach as if the Christian life were a guarantee to be free from problems and sometimes to get wealthy too. Many preachers know better, though. I fully agree with your view on the genuine thrust of gospel preaching. Of course you haven’t muddied up anything. The heart of the Gospel is to acknowledge who is Jesus Christ, repent from our sins, receive His gift of salvation, and follow Him no matter what. Best wishes in Christ, Fernando.

Robert , do you believe a person who thinks they are a Christian but are not really because they thought they could do this by their works can be used by God to have a way of assisting a non-Christian to become a Christian , meaning if they invite a person to church , and that person actually becomes a Christian because they read the scripture correctly and verbally confessed their sins and asked Jesus into their hearts and believed — did all it takes and became a Christian , although the person who thought they were a Christian was not actually , did GOD use that non-Christian to get that one who was not a Christian to get them in church and as a result they became a Christian ? If you give this some thought did Judas Iscariot once actually fill the role of a follower of Jesus and have a part in the influence of others that they would follow , but he was the one to deceive Christ ? I just want to hear that explained by you using the scripture actually please ……….

Hi Nicholas,
While I don’t know the heart condition of those whom you write about, I know that God can use whatever means He wants to accomplish His will. I’m sure that there have been, and most likely still are, those whose hearts have not truly been given to Christ, but they still do things that promote Jesus, God, and the Kingdom. However, it is important for each of us to constantly reevaluate our walk with Jesus to make sure we remain in His will and that we are abiding in His grace. God bless you, Nicholas.
Yours in Christ,
Robert

I want to ask about this Problem I have ,Have You Discuses this Before There these People on the Internet that saying that Jesus is a Myth and they Compare Him To Mythology Figure Like the the Death and Resurrection Egyptian Horus and other Mythology Figure Can you explain this

Anthony,
Thank you for reading and commenting. The people to whom you refer (those claiming that Jesus is merely a mythological person, etc.) believe that, by fabricating stories that attempt to disprove the existence of God and Jesus, that they are no longer responsible to any higher authority. They believe that, if there is no God, then they can do whatever they want to do without consequence. This is the same tired old attack that began in the garden when the serpent tempted Eve. The serpent caused Eve to doubt God and eventually disobey Him. This is the same thing these myth-theory propagators are doing; they seek to foster doubt in people’s minds concerning the reality of God and Jesus. Anthony, I can assure you that the Bible, and all it records, is not the result of someone’s imagination; it is the very thoughts of God written down by men moved by the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:21).

Anthony, I am writing an article on this very subject to be published next month on this site. I encourage you, first, to trust God and His Word and, secondly, to read my article next month. When one examines the evidence, and thinks through the issue, it is clear that the story of God [history] has not been fabricated from the myths and fairy tales of man; quite the contrary, usually it is the myths and fairy tales of men that are actually perversions of the truth. I hope this helps some, Anthony. God bless you.

Thank For Replying It Get me mad that People who Don’t Believe In God But Try To Reject Him Even when God Try to Save Them And they will tell US to Abandon Our Faith Cause I Found a Website That Telling us to Abandon Faith it Get me Mad When They Do This I Know Jesus is NOT a Myth But One part of Me is Doubting i Just Want to Find the Answer to This

Anthony, when we look at the comparative historical accounts, which are empirically verifiable even by secular or non-Christian historians, there is no doubt that not only did Jesus Christ exist, He did what He claimed He would do. He lived a sinless life, He died as an innocent in our place, there were well over 500 eye witnesses that saw Him after He was crucified, and He if you will believe in Him and ask God to reveal Himself to you in a genuine way, He will. I would recommend you read Luke and also John for Luke is said to be, even among noted historians, as one of the greatest historical accounts (including the Book of Acts) that is equal to any historian that has ever lived. Also, the Gospel of John, if you read it, will reveal that Jesus Christ did not only exist and of course He still does, but this book also reveals His Deity. I pray God reveals Himself to you and that you might be saved before He returns (Rev 20:11-15) for by then, it will be too late to believe and trust in Him.

Actually most Non-Christians are smarter than that and come at the faith with better assaults than the ones listed in this article. Those above are mere grade school assaults. Richard Dawkins and folk like him are making much more compelling cases against Christianity than those. This is why we Christians need not just a better understanding of the bible generally (we all do) Christians need to be better educated generally. That means being able to make a point and defend it and refute false positions with fact and stay relevant while in discussion.

If you’re going to be any kind of Apologist Christian or otherwise and engage in polemic discussions, you need to have your “A” game present or you’ll be discredited and even made to look and sound rediculous and where yours is a faith to convice others to turn to, you’d end up counter productive in your efforts.

One of the main efforts undertaken in many divinity schools today besides readying the nation’s priests and pastors to lead the flock is getting them ready to face a world where many people are attempting to become instant “Galileos” by publicly showing Christians to be ignorant believers in theories such as “the earth is the center of the universe”. This is why in said discussions Christians need to source their arguments and with more than the bible. Jesus dealt with Pharisees using His ability as God to match and surpass their inquisitions. For you and me, the task is somewhat more difficult, however Jesus did promise in Luke 12:11-12 that He will tell you what to say when the Pharisees press you, you STILL need to be prepared if you’re gonna address the scoffers of today.

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